Ivsachine for cleaning old bricks



(No Model) is. A. PRESCOTT. MACHINE FOR CLEANING OLD BRICKS.

No. 585,362. Patented June 29,1897.

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SAMUEL A. PRESCOTT, OF \VILKINSONVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING OLD BRICKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 585,362, dated June 29, 1897.

Application filed May 2, 1895. Serial No. 547,946. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL A. PRESCOTT, of WVilkinsonville, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cleaning Old Bricks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in whicl1 Figure 1 represents a top or plan view of a bench with four brick-holding devices attached thereto, which will be hereinafter described. Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, also showing uncleaned bricks in two of the holding devices and a side view of a scraping-tool for cleaning the old mortar from the surfaces of said bricks. 3 is an end view of the bench and brick-holding devices shown by Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 represents, upon an enlarged scale, a plan of one of the brick-holding devices. Fig. 5 is a front view, upon the same enlarged scale, of part of said brickholding device with a rough uncleaned brick in position therein ready to be cleaned.

The object of myinvention is to provide a machine whereby old 1nortar-covered bricks obtained in the removal and tearing down of old brick buildings may be cleaned properly for reuse in a more expeditious and economical manner than by the common well-known hand-cleaning method heretofore employed.

Said invention consists in combining with a table or bench a series of brick-holding devices constructed and arranged as hereinafter described and adapted to hold the old mortarcovered bricks in such a .manner that said mortar may be cleaned therefrom by means of a suitable scraping-tool, as will be hereinafter set forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to better understand the nature and purpose thereof, I will now proceed to describe it more in detail.

The machine for carrying out my invention is constructed and arranged as follows:

In the drawings, A represents the table or bench upon which are placed the bricks to be cleaned and at the outer edges of which are arranged and secured the devices B for holding the mortar-covered bricks preparatory to scraping-tool O. The size and shape of said table or bench and also the number of brickholding devices may be varied in practice as desired. In this instance the bench or table is shown about two and one-half feet wide, eight feet long, and provided with handles A at each corner for convenience in carrying and moving the same from one position to a11- other. It is also provided with a raised platform A 011 top, next to each brick-holding device B, (of which there are four in this instance,) which serves to guide the horizontal movements of the tool and also as a gage to govern the amount of material to be scraped from the surfaces of the bricks, the height of said platform being made in practice about equal to the height of the bricks after being cleaned. The height and shape of said platform-gage may be varied as desired.

The brick-holding devices B are arranged at the edges of the table or bench A, as previously stated, and at the proper points and distances apart for the workmen to perform the cleaning operation without interfering with one another, one workman being employed at each holding device with his right side toward the table or bench.

The holding devices are all alike, and a description of one will therefore be sufficient for the rest, which is as follows: A vertical angle-plate D, provided at its upper end with a horizontal flange-plate D, adapted to fit over the top edge of the table or bench, is secured to said table by means of bolts a or other suitable fastenings. Said top flange plate D is provided in turn with the two side guides Z) b at the inner edge thereof and with the end stop Z), all projecting up from said plate to hold the bricks at the inner side and forward end, respectively, when placed in the device. posite end from the stop I) by the raised platform A previously described, and at the outer side by the head E of a weighted vertically-arranged lever E, pivoted near the bottom at c to the frame D or other stationary part of the machine. It will be seen that by this construction a skeleton brick-holding device is formed, so that there is practically nothing to interfere with the clearing away of the mortar which is scraped off, and the said holding device does not become clogged,

They are held at the back or opas would be the'case if it were closed at its sides and bottom. Said lever E is connected near its upper end to a cord or chain d, passed over a wheel 6, mounted in a stationary bearingf, and to the outer end of said cord or chain is attached a heavy weight g for pulling inward on lever E and thus exerting a yielding side pressure against the outer sides of the bricks placed in the device to hold them in position. The lower end of the lever projects out to form a foot-treadle h, which may be pressed down by the foot of the workman to swing out the upper end and release the bricks after they are cleaned and to admit of others being placed in the device preparatory to cleaning. A handle 11 may also be formed upon the upper end of said lever, whereby the same operation of moving out the upper end thereof may be performed by hand instead of by foot power. The side guides 17 b and end. stop Z) are employed for holding the bricks when laid flatwise and edgewise to clean the sides and edges thereof.

In cleaning the ends of the bricks they are placed vertically in the device with their inner sides and front edges bearing against the bottom side j and front side 70, respectively, of the recess formed in frame D and with their bottom ends resting on supports Z Z, projecting horizontally from said plate D, the outer sides of said bricks being held by the weighted lever, as in the former instance. The upper end of the weighted lever may be provided with a stop m, projectinginward and adapted to bear endwise against the vertical frame D to hold the lever from swinging in beyond a certain point. Said stop may also by being provided with a slot m at its fastened end be adjusted to come right to hold the bricks in position at the back edges thereof.

The bricks may be cleaned after they are placed in the aforesaid holding devices by means of a suitable scraping-tool, as 0. (Shown in Fig. 2.) I make no claim, however, to said scraping-tool.

The operation of cleaning a brick by my improved machine is as follows: The workman first moves out the upper end of lever E in the manner previously described, then places a rough mortar-covered brick Fin the holding device B, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, and, finally, taking the scraping-tool O with a handle in each hand, moves said tool forward and back longitudinally with short reciprocating movements and with a downward pressure over the surface of the brick, which operation causes the old mortar or other foreign substance adhering to said brick to be scraped off and rendering the same as smooth and clean as when originally taken from the kiln. One side being cleaned as aforesaid,the brick is removed and replaced with another rough surface on top, when the operation of cleaning is repeated, and so on until all the sides and ends of the brick are cleaned.

Having described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for cleaning bricks, the combination with a suitable table, of a vertical plate secured to the side of said table, a horizontal plate at right angles to said vertical plate and located at the top of said table, rigid stops or guides at the front and inner sides of said horizontal plate, a raised block or platform at the rear of said lastnamed plate, a swinging clamp pivoted to said vertical plate and cooperating with said fixed stops or guides to hold a brick in fixed position, and a weight to normally hold said clamp in closed position.

- 2. In a machine for cleaning bricks, the combination with a suitable table, of a vertical angle-plate secured to the side of said table and having horizontal supporting-pins projecting from its inner wall, said angleplate having at its upper end a horizontal flange-plate having side guides or stops 1) and end stop I), a raised block or platform at the top of said table and at the rear of said flange-plate, and a clamp pivoted to said vertical angle-plate.

3. In a machine for cleaning bricks, the combination with a suitable table, of a skeleton brick-holding device mounted thereon, and the rear end of which is formed by a raised block or platform which serves also as a gage, and a weighted clamping-lever cooperating with said skeleton device to hold a brick in fixed position, said clamping-lever being provided with a handle and also with a treadle, to overcome the weight, in opening the clamp.

SAMUEL A. PRESCOTT. WVitnesses:

A. A. BARKER, W. B. NOURSE. 

